A west Belfast man whose young autistic son was left terrified when arsonists poured accelerant over his car and set it on fire called on the perpetrators to “be real men” and hand themselves in to police.
Nathan Kane is also offering a cash reward for help in identifying the two suspects after his six-year-old son Bobby was left “shaking” and “squeallng” for several hours after the the jeep exploded outside the family home in the Laburnum Green area of Twinbrook on Monday morning.
The plumbing and heating engineer initially assumed there was an electrical fault with the car he had only recently purchased – until he checked his CCTV at around 5am.
“I heard a loud bang,” he told the Belfast Telegraph.
“I thought Bobby had fallen out of bed before I saw the flames outside.
“I grabbed the keys to my work van to move it before it exploded and tried to move my fiancée’s car, but it was too late and I had to leave it.
“It was too far gone, I would have been dead myself.
“When I watched the video it showed two males putting a petrol bomb through the window which is disgusting, totally insensitive and complete madness.”
The footage has been shared online by hundreds of social media users.
Nathan’s partner Paula focused on calming Bobby down and took the distressed child to a neighbour’s house where he was wrapped in blankets and given water.
“He was squealing and shaking like a leaf because he is so sensitive,” his dad recalled.
“I was devastated because this could have potentially caused a fatality.”
The concerned father is baffled as to why he was targeted and said he has never exchanged “so much as a bad word” with anyone.
“The community has been fantastic and I have a sore throat from talking to so many people,” Mr Kane explained.
“Everyone has been checking in on us and bringing us gifts – I’m a very hard-working man who labours six days a week and goes to Mass on Sundays and take a kids’ boxing club.
“So all my neighbours have my back which has been great.”
The tradesman, who has been forced to take several days off work as a result of the incident, admitted his family is worried that the culprits will return.
However he vowed to stay in his home.
“I’m absolutely devastated that anyone would put my family’s life at risk like this and either not consider the possibility of death or just not care,” Mr Kane said.
“It’s a very sleazy move and not a manly thing to do.
“I urge them to come forward and would just say ‘if you are men, then stand up and say it was you’.”
Mr Kane is confident in the PSNI investigation which is now ongoing.
“The police have plenty lines of enquiry, so we will get them,” he said.
The two suspects are believed to have made off in the direction of Twinbrook Road on foot.
PSNI Sergeant Rooney confirmed one of the cars was completely destroyed in the blaze and that the second was partially damaged.
“It was reported that two men, both wearing dark coloured coats with their hoods pulled up, were seen spraying liquid on the bonnet of one of the vehicles before setting fire to the inside of it,” he added.
Sinn Féin MLA Danny Baker condemned the “very scary” and “traumatic” attack and said the family just want to “make sure that this doesn’t happen again”.
“It is unacceptable,” he added.
“It is not reflective of the community; it is a shameful act.”